Below I have created a time line of how film sprang into this beautiful world of ours, so sit back and soak in the knowledge…
1877 – Eadweard Muybridge lined up a series of cameras, to take individual pictures to see a horse’s hooves moving off the ground, for Leland Stanford. Apparently, Stanford wanted to see if all 4 of the horse’s hooves came off the ground when it galloped.
1882 – Etienne- Jules Marey created a camera in a form of a gun with negative film, which was the very first short reel camera.
1889 – Thomas Edison invented a camera that could take loop footage, and to show the footage he created a Kinetoscope (which was essentially a motion scope), which played the loop over and over again. And I bet you thought the only useful thing he made was the light bulb!1894 – Andrew Holland opened the very first Kinetoscope parlor. Remember, in these early stages of film there was no sound so in the parlor there would be someone playing a piano while people enjoyed the footage.
1895 – This was the year that the Lumieres Brothers gave birth to movies the way we know them today. They came up with the idea to put a light behind a screen to project their ‘actualities’ (their documentary style film).1896 – Not many people know this, but Alice Guy Blanche (yes, a woman), made the first color film and the first film to have a story line.
1903 – A great year, because if it wasn’t for a certain Georges Melies creating the film ‘A Trip
to the Moon’, the very first science fiction movie, we may have never been introduced to the art of editing and animation. (Ok, someone else probably would’ve come up with it sooner or later, I just like dramatics)
1927 – E
ver hear the phrase “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”? Well I bet you didn’t know it was one of the few lines Al Jolson said in the film ‘The Jazz Singer,’ directed by Alan Crosland. This was the first movie that had sound while filming it (however, because the machine they used to record sound was so loud, the whole movie had only a few dialoged sequences).
1928 – The movie ‘The Lights of New York’ was the official 100% full talkie film.
1941 – This is the final year I leave you with, the year that Orson Welles made ‘Citizen Kane.’ It was said that Welles was the man who began the talkie era, first bringing entertainment (and fear) to everyone, through broadcasting waves with the ‘War of the Worlds’ radio rendition of the planet being overrun by aliens; then taking his talents and applying them to film.
Well I hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past…let me know what you think of it!
1903 – A great year, because if it wasn’t for a certain Georges Melies creating the film ‘A Trip
to the Moon’, the very first science fiction movie, we may have never been introduced to the art of editing and animation. (Ok, someone else probably would’ve come up with it sooner or later, I just like dramatics)1927 – E
ver hear the phrase “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”? Well I bet you didn’t know it was one of the few lines Al Jolson said in the film ‘The Jazz Singer,’ directed by Alan Crosland. This was the first movie that had sound while filming it (however, because the machine they used to record sound was so loud, the whole movie had only a few dialoged sequences).1928 – The movie ‘The Lights of New York’ was the official 100% full talkie film.
1941 – This is the final year I leave you with, the year that Orson Welles made ‘Citizen Kane.’ It was said that Welles was the man who began the talkie era, first bringing entertainment (and fear) to everyone, through broadcasting waves with the ‘War of the Worlds’ radio rendition of the planet being overrun by aliens; then taking his talents and applying them to film.
Well I hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past…let me know what you think of it!
3 comments:
This is a very nice overview of early film history. I'm especially grateful that you included Melies's masterpiece "A Trip to the Moon" and Orson Welles' timeless classic "Citizen Kane," which is among my favourite films; Welles doesn't get as much credit as he should for his humor and subtle comedy.
In terms of additions, I'd be inclined to note "The Great Train Robbery," which popularized cross-cutting and was one of the first lengthy narrative works. Perhaps more importantly, D. W. Griffith is worth noting, although his credibility is generally diminished in light of the excessive racism present in "Birth of a Nation," which was the most radical leap in cinema at its time -- apparently, Griffith established close to 200 new film techniques while shooting said film. I think German Expressionism is also worth noting for its influence on mise en scene and heightened symbolism in cinema. Among my favourites of the genre is "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Lastly, Jean Renoir and John Ford were integral in establishing various technical approaches that enhanced conceptual meaning and foreshadowing with their use of deep focus and framing composition (for evidence, look no further than anything Ford directed after 1939), which is consistently associated with "Citizen Kane." Ford's film "Stagecoach" predates many of the qualities associated with Welles and although Welles tended to note his influence, it is usually Welles who is credited with the use of interior ceilings and long fluid takes etc. Renoir was just as instrumental in popularizing such techniques and many of the French critics -- most notably Francois Truffaut -- championed the director as the most important figure in film. "The Rules of the Game" and "The River" are certainly strong evidence for such an argument; the latter generally being heaped with the greatest films of all time.
If we were to continue a tad further in cinema, it would probably be worth mentioning Italian neorealism, which was, perhaps, the single most important influence on the French New Wave. But, if I were to go into such a subject, I'd probably blather on for much too long.
Perhaps, at this point, it would be best to reiterate my initial reaction to your topic, which was that of appreciation.
-Kurtis
you know i actually meant to add the 'great train robbery' and D.W. Griffith's contributions to the list but I totally forgot...as for the German Expressionism, Italian neo realism and the french new wave, i choose to exclude it from the list since I wasn't sure how much info a person could attain from a single blog entry...I will try and enlighten the souls of our fellow classmates in future blogs...lol...thanks for all your input, you realy know your films!!
I learn something new everyday! Great overview Fazila!
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